Nights Like This
by Honor Reid
Summary: A Lucid dream is any dream during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming.  Or Pride and Loretta finally realize how they feel about each other.  (Loretta x Pride)


**A/N:** A big thank you to my beta jacieleigh they were awesome. Written for the comm older_not_dead prompt: lucid dream. Also for hc_bingo prompt: disappearing. Title from the song Bonfire Hearts by James Blunt.

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 **~New Orleans~**

Pride opened his eyes slowly as the early-morning light filtered through the windows. He laid there a moment, looking around; everything was drenched in a sort of white soft haze. The bedroom was strange and yet familiar, but that thought did not worry him because he felt safe here and in that moment he realized he was dreaming.

Hearing voices in the distance, he stood up, and in the way of dreams, one moment he was in the sun-drenched bedroom in sleep pants and a white shirt, and the next he was standing in the doorway of a kitchen fully dressed. Just as he entered the kitchen, CJ hurried out, backpack in hand, calling out a goodbye over his shoulder.

Pride said goodbye back and then found himself sitting at a small dinette table with his breakfast in front of him. Looking down at his left hand, he noticed a simple band of gold and platinum twisted together on his ring finger. Sitting next to him was Loretta. She was telling him about her plans for the day; on her left hand was a ring similar to his.

In wonder, Pride slowly reached out and ran a fingertip across her ring, before closing his hand around hers. The action felt natural and sense of contentment stole over him. Loretta stopped speaking and smiled at him squeezing his hand in return before standing up. She then leaned over and brushed her lips against his, Pride smiled into the kiss, the love he felt for her swirled through him. He reached up to draw her closer but Loretta turned and took her plate to the sink.

He felt immediately bereft like she might slip away before he could tell her how he felt.

Pride stood but as soon as he turned around she was gone. He heard the front door shut and he rushed down the hall but no matter how fast he ran he couldn't reach the door, the hallway seemingly never-ending. In the distance, he heard a car start up and drive away.

 _It was too late._

Pride awoke abruptly. He sat up with his heart pounding, sweat cooling on his skin. Looking around he realized he was in his bedroom. Lifting up his left hand, Pride felt a rush of disappointment at his bare ring finger.

Nothing had changed but it felt like everything had. The dream had made something very clear to him. His feelings for Loretta went deeper than friendship.

 _When had that happened?_

He cherished Loretta's friendship. Pride didn't want to do anything that would hurt that relationship; they had seen each other through both bad and good times. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

Picking up his phone from the side table, Pride tapped on the phone app. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the listing for Wade, Loretta. His finger hovered over the number. It was Saturday and the team actually had the weekend off. Gregorio, Patton, and Sebastian had left on Friday afternoon as soon as they had been off duty. Percy and LaSalle had left together talking about catching the game that was on. He wasn't sure what Loretta's plans were; she might not even be home.

Finally, he tapped the number, and brought the phone up to his ear.

It rang a few times and then upon hearing a faint _hello_ Pride said, "Hey Loretta. How are you?"

"It is a lovely morning, so I am doing just fine. How are you, Dwayne?"

"Good, I was calling to see if you have any plans for this afternoon?" Pride asked after clearing his throat, his nerves almost getting the better of him.

"Actually no, I am at loose ends today. I'm going to drop CJ at a friend's house here in a couple minutes; they are having a sleepover this evening."

"Oh…I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to a street fair. There is one that runs this weekend just a couple of blocks from the bar. They are going to have crafts, food, and music," Pride said in a rush.

"That sounds like a lot of fun. I could meet you at the bar after I drop CJ off at his friend's house and then we could walk to the fair."

Smiling widely, Pride confirmed what time he would meet with her and then hanging up the phone. Pride took in a deep breath and blew it out. He was anxious about the outing but reasoned with himself that it was just two friends going out together. He hoped they could become more but if Loretta didn't feel the same way, then he would at least know for sure one way or another.

 **~New Orleans~**

Loretta hung up the kitchen phone and called out, "CJ we are leaving in fifteen minutes, are you packed?"

After hearing a faint _yes_ from the back of the house, Loretta smiled and then walked into her bedroom to grab her purse she passed by her full-length mirror. She stopped and gave herself a critical once-over. She realized that although her outfit had been okay for dropping off CJ and running a few errands, now that she had plans with Dwayne, she wanted to wear something nicer.

She changed into a lightweight cream sweater and a brown suede ankle length skirt. Loretta smiled at her reflection. _Much better._ Then she stopped and wondered at herself for all this fuss. This was Dwayne; he had seen her in her work scrubs, and in her favorite black dress. He had seen her at her best and at her worst, so why was she wound so tight about a simple outing?

Maybe because she had felt a growing tension between the two of them lately, that usually wasn't there. Their eyes met and held for longer, they smiled more often at each other, and their casual touches were more frequent.

As she shook her head at her foolishness, Loretta walked out of her bedroom and ran into CJ who said in exasperation, "What happened to fifteen minutes?" Before he took a step back, and said, "You look great. Do you have a date?"

Loretta just gaped at her son for a moment, before she gently turned him around and hustled him to the car, "Thank you for the compliment. I am going to a street faire with Dwayne."

"Oh yeah," CJ said with a bemused expression.

"Watch it, young man," Loretta said with a laugh and a brief hug before they got into the car.

 **~New Orleans~**

Loretta pushed open the door to Pride's bar and waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior. When they did she saw Dwayne at the piano, softly playing a tune, but he stopped and turned when he heard the door close. Other than Dwayne the place was empty. Although the bar had been restored to its former glory after being almost destroyed by the fire, it still wasn't open to the public. There was to be a grand re-opening next week.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting? There was a bit more traffic than expected," Loretta explained.

Dwayne walked towards her with a soft smile on his face, "Not at all," he said as he bent down slightly and brushed a light kiss across her cheek, "You look beautiful."

Loretta felt her cheeks heat up at the feeling of his lips against her skin. Their eyes met and held for a long moment, the air suddenly thick between them with all they were not saying.

Dwayne cleared his throat nervously. He looked away and held open the door for her. "Shall we?"

As they walked through the doorway, the cool breeze feeling refreshing on her skin, Loretta said, "Of course."

Dwayne offered his arm and Loretta only hesitated briefly before taking it. As they started walking down the street towards the sounds of laughter and music that could be heard from blocks away she couldn't help but think that maybe CJ was right, this outing was feeling more and more like a date by the minute. Loretta found that she didn't mind in the least.

 **~New Orleans~**

Dwayne found himself swaying with the music that was playing all around them as they walked from booth to booth checking out the wares that were for sale. There were booksellers, antique dealers, crafters, and artisans. Although they had been at the fair for over an hour they hadn't seen anything that had tempted them to buy.

Dwayne was simply enjoying the company, and how much happy Loretta looked, as they walked arm and arm through the fair. He heard her gasp slightly when she saw the next booth, looking up from his study of her, Dwayne saw what had grabbed her attention. The booth specialized in art, and art supplies, all types of brushes, paints, different sized easels, and canvases.

As she gently ran her fingertips over the various brushes on display, Dwayne asked, "See something you like?"

Loretta laughed softly. "I'll say. They have a really nice selection."

"Looking for something for your art studio?" Dwayne asked, remembering being surprised when Sebastian had told him of Loretta's past as an artist. Loretta had later confirmed it, but had not said anything else on the subject.

"Yes, I had some stuff stored from…before," Loretta said, "But not very much so I am on the lookout for more."

Dwayne heard the hesitation and knew she was speaking about when she was married. Her ex-husband was still a delicate and painful subject and he didn't want to push so Dwayne asked, "Anything in particular catch your eye?"

"Some of these brushes that are for watercolors are very nice. Actually, they are practically a steal," Loretta said. "I have a couple of pieces, I am working on and I need to replace some of my older brushes."

"I didn't know you were working on new pieces," Dwayne said in surprise. The last time they had spoken about Loretta's art, she was still setting up her studio.

Loretta picked up a couple of the brushes, and reaching into her purse, she withdrew cash. She handed the bills to the woman who hovered just on the other side of the table, and while they waited for her to return, Loretta said, "Inspiration hit suddenly last week on my day off, and I started two different pieces."

As she accepted her change and the paper bag with her newly acquired items, Loretta turned towards Dwayne and asked uncertainly, "Would you like to see them? There not finished or anything…but if you wanted…" She trailed off unsure if she wanted Dwayne to say yes or not. Although she was very proud of herself for starting to paint again she knew that her skills were very rusty and that it would take some time and some practice before she produced anything she would be willing to show most people. But Dwayne wasn't just anyone he was…and that was where her brain stopped, refusing to label exactly what Dwayne was to her because she had a feeling none of the old labels would fit anymore.

When she saw Dwayne's face light up, Loretta decided she was pleased that she had extended the offer.

"I would be delighted," Dwayne said with a broad smile.

As they turned to go, Dwayne once again offered his arm. Loretta felt emboldened by the look of softness and care in his eyes, placed her hand in his instead and when he entangled their fingers together she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as they headed back towards their cars.

 **~New Orleans~**

When she opened the door to her art studio, Loretta felt her heartbeat pounding away in her chest and she made herself take a deep breath before letting it out.

As she flicked on the light, she led Dwayne to over to the far side of the room where she had her paints and her easels. During the day the light was best there so she had set up her main station on the far side of the room. She pointed towards the first one that was a bouquet of flowers, Loretta said, "I had seen these in a magazine and they were just so pretty I had to try to capture them."

Dwayne took in the painting, it was an exquisite swirl of colors almost impressionistic and so beautiful, "It's lovely, Loretta," he said as he got closer. "I am very impressed."

Loretta couldn't help the pleased smile that spread across her face, "Thank you, it is a work in progress and I am still trying to get a feel for painting again."

The second painting was facing towards the wall and it was the one she was more nervous about. She slowly turned the canvas around and anxiously waited for Dwayne's verdict.

"Loretta," Dwayne said quietly, almost reverently, as he stared at it. It was his bar, repaired and rebuilt. In the foreground were various patrons drinking and having a good time but they were out of focus and more of a suggestion. Then in the center was a man in a plain white T-shirt playing the piano. It was the way the piano player was painted though that made Dwayne's heart start to race. There was a lovingness to the brushstrokes. You could tell this man was loved and cared for by the artist. The man at the piano was him.

He felt Loretta's hand slip into his and she turned him towards her. Dwayne brought his hand up and cupped the side of Loretta's face and asked, "May I kiss you?"

"Yes," Loretta softly breathed out.

Dwayne leaned down and with all of the longing and pent up tension that had been building between them, kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him, drawing Pride closer until she was pressed against him. With a moan, he deepened the kiss. Loretta felt his hands clench her sweater; the kiss seemed to go on and on, the passion building between them.

Finally, they broke apart and rested their foreheads together. Loretta couldn't help the bubble of laughter that broke free from her which caused Dwayne to hug her against him. She rested her cheek against his chest, and he gave a surprised chuckle as well. It was bit overwhelming, this new chapter they were starting together, but as Dwayne once again bent down and caressed his lips against hers, Loretta knew they would be alright because they had found in each other what they needed. They could deal with whatever the future threw at them.

 **The End**


End file.
